Adelita Grijalva’s win Tuesday in a special House election in southern Arizona has handed Democrats another seat in Congress and delivered the pivotal 218th signature for a discharge petition to force the Justice Department to release still-secret files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The development all but guarantees a floor vote on bipartisan legislation requiring the DOJ to post every record it holds on Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The measure, co-sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep Ro Khanna , bypasses House leadership after Speaker Mike Johnson resisted calls to schedule the bill.According to The Hill, Massie has accused GOP leaders of shielding Trump’s wealthy allies. “I do believe that Trump is not implicated,” Massie said. “I believe that Trump is trying to protect rich and powerful people who are his friends, and that is why this material is not getting released.”Grijalva, who succeeds her late father, longtime Rep Raúl Grijalva, pledged to sign the petition upon being sworn in, potentially setting up a vote as early as late October. Only a handful of discharge petitions have succeeded in recent decades, making this a rare and contentious maneuver.The milestone is also politically fraught for former president Donald Trump. As The Hill reported, Trump initially vowed to release the Epstein files but recently reversed himself, calling the controversy a “hoax” and urging his supporters to move on. On Truth Social last month, Trump posted: “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!”The petition has already drawn signatures from every Democrat and three Republicans — Reps. Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert. With Grijalva’s addition, the 218 threshold is reached, though GOP leaders could still attempt procedural tactics to block the measure.House Oversight Chair James Comer has argued a separate investigation under his panel is sufficient, pointing to subpoenaed files and witness interviews, including former Attorney General William Barr and ex-prosecutor Alexander Acosta. “We continue to believe the Committee’s investigative process is the most appropriate avenue,” Comer wrote last week, according to The Hill.But supporters of the discharge petition remain unconvinced, warning the DOJ is filtering evidence. “The DOJ’s curating all of that, and they’re releasing what they want to release,” Massie told The Hill. “People are going to go through [the documents] and say, ‘Hey, wait. There’s nothing new here.’ And then that will only incite people to be more upset that there’s no transparency.”According to analysis from MSNBC, attention is now shifting to the Senate, where vulnerable Republicans such as Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), and Jon Husted (Ohio) may face pressure if the House vote passes. “Will they spend all their political capital to keep the Epstein files secret?” the network’s report asked, warning that the issue could become a political liability heading into 2026 races.The Epstein legislation, if passed in the House, would still need Senate approval and Donald Trump’s signature to become law. Yet advocates believe that forcing a floor vote could mark a turning point in the long campaign for disclosure.
